Monday, February 23, 2009

Sounds Like Sunday

There was supposed to be a small bump in the waves yesterday, and with the forecast showing flatness until the end of the week, I thought I'd try and get out. A weak little front was supposed to pass over, bringing the NW winds, but once that happened, things were going to get blown out quick, so I sat around constantly checking the cameras and waiting for the tide to fill in a little in the afternoon. Finally, I headed out. First spot check was the south end, which as you can tell from below, looked tiny. A high point in fashion: wetsuit plus slip-ons. Trying to decide whether to park and go or check some other spots. I ended up driving the length of the island to find that things were equally as small in the north.I ended up heading back down to the south end, all the while coming up with a list of reasons in my head why I should paddle out despite the microscopic conditions. So I ended up ripple riding for an hour or so in some super clean, although tiny waves. My neighbor Will ended up paddling out with a friend closer to the pier, so he can attest to the wild weather during the afternoon session. Things were relatively warm at the start, but the wind picked up a bit and then it began to rain and snow at the same time, eventually changing completely to snow for twenty minutes or so. Because the wind was so strong, it was snowing sideways for most of the squall, and things got very cold very quickly with the wind. I'm glad I headed out when I did because the wind seem to really beat things down quickly, leaving fewer and fewer ripples coming through to ride. Beats sitting on the couch watching NBA basketball any day.